Injector



Nov. 23, 1954 ROTTER 2,694,977

INJECTOR Filed Nov. 10, 1951 fil-1G. l

/lg FIG .4,25 55 123 j, 5 45 W Y, Z /f i 2l ,Z3/25 'l (9 43 e? 33 47 2;@-vv 5 f// wt v f 3 Z /o/ 95 9 l1.25 49 \99 United States Pate INJECTORLutwin C. Retter, BIaplewood, Mo., assigner to Lincoln EngineeringCompany, Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application November 15),1951, Serial No. 155,863

4 Claims. (Ci. 1133-2) This invention relates to injectors, and moreparticularly to lubricant injectors.

This application is related to the two co-assigned, copendingapplications of Victor Klein and Carl H. Mueller, both entitledInjector, Serial No. 240,382, tiled August 4, 1951, and Serial No.255,828, led November l0, 195 l.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision ofan injector, and particularly a lubricant injector of the same generaltype as that disclosed in the aforesaid copending applications fordelivering measured charges of lubricant individually to a plurality oflubrication points upon a single cycle of operation, of improvedconstruction making possible the delivery of smaller individual chargesof lubricant than possible with the injectors disclosed in the saidcopend ing applications. Other objects will be in part apparent and inpart pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, and arrangements or' parts whichwill be exempliiied in the structures hereinafter described, and thescope of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which one of various possibleembodiments of the invention is illustrated,

Fig. l is a plan view of an injector of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 2,illustrating a plunger of the injector in a different position from thatshown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse cross section taken on line 4 4 of Fig.2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an elevation of a check valve per se of the injector; and,

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, an injector constructed in accordance withthis invention is shown to comprise a cylinder 1. A plunger 3 is movablein the cylinder. An extension 5 of reduced cross section extends fromthe working end 7 of the plunger (its right end as viewed in thedrawing) through an opening 9 in the corresponding end of the cylinder.The cylinder has a lateral inlet port 11 spaced from its right end, anda series of ten longitudinally spaced outlet ports 13, 15, 17, 19, 21,23, 25, 27, 29 and 31 between the left end of the cylinder and the inletport. The plunger 3 has a lateral port 33 spaced from its working end 7,and a longitudinal passage 35 for establishing communication to thelateral port 33 from the space 37 in the cylinder around the extension5. The passage 35 in the plunger is longer than the longitudinaldistance from the inlet port 11 to the outlet port 13 nearest the leftend of the cylinder. In the passage 35 is a check valve 39 which isadapted to open upon movement of the plunger toward the right end of thecylinder. The plunger is movable from the charging position illustratedin Fig. 2, wherein its working end 7 is retracted the inlet port 11,toward the right end of the cylin* der through a pressure strokesuccessively to force out individual charges through the outlet ports1.3-31, as the lateral port 33 passes the outlet ports.

More particularly, the cylinder 1 comprises an elongate cylinder blockof generally square cross section, thereby having four flat sides 41,43, and 47, and havnic@ ing a central longitudinal bore 49 with acounterbore 51 at the left end of the bore. At its right end thecylinder 1 has a cylindrical projection 53 of reduced cross section asregards the main body of the cylinder. Threaded on this extension is acap 55 having the opening 9 therein. Packing 57 is contained in the capbetween the head portion of the cap and the end of the projection 53,the plunger extension 5 having a slidable sealing tit in the packing.

Threaded in the counterbore 51 at the left end of the cylinder is asleeve 59 having an inturned ilange 61 at its outer end. The inner endof this sleeve holds in place plunger packing 63. The plunger, towardits left end, extends into the sleeve. Adjacent its left end the plungerhas a collar 65. A compression spring 67 acts against this collar tobias the plunger toward the left as illustrated in the drawing. The leftend of the plunger and the spring are received in a socket 69 at theinner end of a plunger-operating rod 71. This rod extends out throughthe outer end of the sleeve and has a shoulder 73 engageable with theange 61 at the outer end of the sleeve for limiting the outward movementof the rod and the plunger, and determining the retracted chargingposition of the plunger illustrated in Fig. 2. By pushing in on theplunger-operating rod, the plunger may be driven toward the right end ofthe cylinder against the return bias of the spring.

The inlet port 11 leads laterally into the bore from the side 41 of thecylinder 1. An elbow fitting 75 for connection of a lubricant supplyline 77 for supplying lubricant to the injector through the inlet portis secured on the side of the cylinder by screws '79. More particularly,this tting 75 consists of a block having a right-angled passage therein.The lubricant delivery line 77 is threaded in one leg 31 of the rightangled passage. A tube 83 extends from the other leg of the passage intothe inlet port through a packing ferrule 37. This ferrule is radiallycompressed upon the tube. The screws extend through spacers 39 betweenthe block and the side 41 of the cylinder. The cylinder and the inlettting 75 have four screw holes located on the corners of a square, sothat the tting may be oriented in any one of four angular positions. Thelubricant supply line 77, for example, may lead to the injector from anelevated oil reservoir for gravity feed of oil to the injector.

The plunger 3 has a close sliding iit in the bore 49. The lateral port33 in the plunger is formed as an annular peripheral groove with radialopenings 91 between the groove and the passage 35 in the plunger. Thepassage 35 in the plunger is formed by boring the plunger and thencouterboring to form a valve chamber 93 with a shoulder 95 at its innerend. As illustrated, the plunger per se is of somewhat reduced crosssection at its right end, as indicated at 97. The working end 7 of theplunger is taken as at the inner end of the reduced cross section endportion of the plunger.

The check valve 39, illustrated per se in Figs. 6 and 7, consists of aone-piece molded body, of rubber or the like, and preferably an oil andgrease resistant synthctic rubber such as Hycar, a butadiene copolymerwith acrylonitrile, having a flat base 99 with a nipple 101 projectingfrom one face of the oase toward the left as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3.The valve is formed with a conical opening or passage 1113 into thenipple, the latter being transversely slit as indicated at 1115 where itjoins the base over part of its periphery, to provide a port through thenipple from the opening or passage 1%93. As herein illustrated, the baseof the valve is in the form of a disc of such diameter as to tit in thevalve chamber 93 at the right end of the plunger against the shoulder95, with the nipple 191 extending into the longitudinal passage 35 inthe plunger. The valve is held in the valve chamber by means of atubular tting 1617 threaded in the valve chamber. This tubular tting hasradial ports 1119 which provide for communication from the space aroundthe plunger extension 5 to the interior of the fitting and thencethrough the valve when the latter is open, to the longitudinal passage35 in the plunger. At its outer end, the iitting 1197 is formed with anenlarged socket 111, receiving a reduced end portion 113 of the plungerextension S. This reduced end por- L) tion of the extension is pinned inthis socket by means of a rolled sheet metal pin 115,

The successive outlet ports 13-31 are successively angularly offset.Four of the outlet ports are located in the side 45 of the cylinderopposite the inlet port, three are located in one of the other sides ofthe cylinder, and the remaining three are located in the remaining sideof the cylinder. Apart from the inlet port, the side 41 of the cylinderis completely enclosed. As shown herein, thefour outlet ports 13, 19, 25and 31 lead laterally ont of the bore 49 to the side 45 of the cylinder.The three outlet ports 15, 21 and 27 lead laterally out of the bore tothe side 43 of the cylinder. The three outlet ports 17, 23 and 29 leadlaterally out of the bore to the side 47 of the cylinder. Each outletport is counterbored at its outer end to form a socket for receiving theend of a lubricant delivery line. The sockets are all designated by thereference character 117, and the delivery lines (tubes) are alldesignated by the reference character 119, The lubricant delivery linesextend through individual ferrules 121 and through openings in followerplates 123 secured to the respective sides of the cylinder by screws 125and effecting a radial cornpression of the ferrules upon the deliverylines in order to hold them secured to the cylinder and to pack themagainst leakage.

When the plunger is in the Fig. 2 charging position. lubricant ows fromthe inlet port 11 directly into the space 37 in the cylinder around theplunger extension 5. The lateral plunger port or groove 33 is blocked.The relation of the longitudinal spacing of the successive outlet ports13-31 and of the last outlet port 31 and the inlet port 11 to the widthof the groove 33 is such that as the plunger is moved from its chargingposition to the right (compare Figs. 2 and 3) through a pressure stroke,the groove 33 comes into communication with the first outlet port 13 asthe end 7 of the plunger blocks olf the inlet port 11, and then comesinto communication with each successive outlet port as it passes out ofcornmunication with the preceding outlet port. This is accomplished bymaking the intervals between the successive outlet ports equal to thewidth of the groove 33. By interval is meant the distance in thelongitudinal direction from the trailing edge of any port (its rightedge nearest the right end of the cylinder) to the leading edge (theleft edge farthest from the right end of the cylinder) of the nextsuccessive port. The distance from the working end 7 of the plunger tothe right edge of the groove 33 is made equal to the distance from theright edge of the inlet port 11 to the left edge of the first outletport 13 so that the groove 33 comes into communication with the firstoutlet port 13 as the plunger reaches a position where it blocks off theinlet port 11.

When the plunger is driven to the right from its charging positionillustrated in Fig. 2, lubricant is displaced from within the space 37in the cylinder around the extension outward through the inlet port 11until, the plunger reaches a position wherein it blocks off the inletport and wherein the right edge of the groove 33 first encounters theleft edge of the first outlet port 13. Then, as the groove passes by theoutlet port, the check valve 39 opens and a charge of lubricant isforced out from the cylinder through the passage 35, the radial ports91, the groove 33 and the outlet port 13 in an amount determined by thedisplacement of the plunger as it moves through the complete distanceover which the groove is open to the port. lt will be seen that thisdistance is equivalent to twice the width of the groove plus the width(diameter) of the port 13. lt will also be seen that the displacement,and accordingly the amount of lubricant forced out through the outletport, will be equal to the product of this distance and thecrosssectional area of the annular space within the cylinder around theplunger extension. Accordingly, the amount of lubricant discharged ismuch less than it would be in the absence of the extension.

As the plunger continues its pressure stroke, the right edge of thegroove 33 next encounters the left edge of the next outlet port 15, asthe left edge of the groove is cut off from the preceding port 13. Then,as the groove passes by the port 15, a charge of lubricant is forced outof the cylinder through this outlet port in amount the same as wasdischarged through the preceding port. This action is repeated as thegroove 33 passes by the remaining outlet ports. Thus, as the plunger isdriven through a pressure stroke from its charging position illustratedin Fig. 2, equal and small charges are forced out of the cylindersuccessively through the outlet ports one after another. Upon return ofthe plunger to charging position by the spring 67, the cylinder isrecharged with lubricant for the next cycle of operation.

Plunger 3 may be operated manually, mechanically or electrically, as maybe desired. Mechanical operation may include actuation by variousmechanical movements or by fluid pressure means. As herein illustrated,it is contemplated that the plunger will be manually operated, theplunger-operating rod 71, for example, having a knob (not shown) on itsouter end for this purpose. The plunger is automatically returned tocharging position upon release of the plunger-operating knob by thespring 67. The plunger might also be operated by the special cyclingmechanism disclosed in the aforesaid copending application Serial No.240,382, adapted during a single cycle of operation to move the plungerthrough a full pressure stroke and return stroke, and then to move theplunger through a partial pressure stroke and return, in case it isdesired to deliver more lubricant to some points than to others uponeach cycle of operation.

While the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated herein hasten outlet ports, it will be understood that the injector may beconstructed with al greater or lesser number of outlet ports as desired.It will also be understood that the principles of the invention may beadaptable to injectors for purposes other than lubrication.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

l claim:

l. An injector comprising a cylinder, a plunger movable in the cylindertoward and away from one end of the cylinder constituting its forwardend, the plunger having an extension 0f reduced cross section extendingfrom its forward end through an opening in the forward end of thecylinder and slidable in sealed relation in the opening, the cylinderhaving a lateral inlet port and a series of longitudinally spacedlateral outlet ports, the plunger having a lateral port spaced from itsforward end and a longitudinal passage for communication from the spacein the cylinder around the extension between the forward end of theplunger and the forward end of the cylinder to the lateral plunger port,the intervals between the successive outlet ports of the series beingequal to the width of the lateral plunger port, the plunger having arearward charging position wherein it unblocks the inlet port for flowinto the space in the cylinder around the extension between the forwardend of the plunger and the forward end of the cylinder, and beingmovable forward from charging position toward the forward end of thecylinder to block the inlet port as the plunger port comes .intocommunication with the first outlet port of the series and thensuccessively to force out individual charges through the outlet ports asthe lateral plunger port passes the outlet ports.

2. An injector comprising a cylinder, a plunger movable in the cylindertoward and away from one end of the cylinder constituting its forwardend, the plunger having an extension of reduced cross section extendingfrom its forward end through an opening in the forward end of thecylinder and slidable in sealed relation in the opening, the cylinderhaving a lateral inlet port spaced from its forward end and a series oflongitudinally spaced lateral outlet ports between its other end and theinlet port, the plunger having a lateral port spaced from its forwardend and a longitudinal passage for communication from the space in thecylinder around the extension between the forward end of the plunger andthe forward end of the cylinder to the lateral plunger port, theintervals between the successive outlet ports of the series being equalto the width of the lateral plunger port, the distance from the forwardend of the plunger to the forward edge portion of the lateral plungerport being equal to the distance from the forward edge portion of theinlet port to the rearward edge portion of the first outlet port of theseries, a check valve in said passage at the forward end of the plungeradapted to open upon movement of the plunger toward the forward end ofthe cylinder, the plunger having a charging position wherein its forwardend is retracted past the inlet port for flow into the space in thecylinder around the extension between the forward end of the plunger andthe forward end of the cylinder, and being movable forward from chargingposition toward the forward end of the cylinder to block the inlet portat the instant that the plunger port cornes into con1- munication withthe rst outlet port of the series and then successively to force outindividual charges through the outlet ports as the lateral plunger portpasses the outlet ports.

3. An injector as set forth in claim 2 whereinthe rearward end of theextension is secured to a tubular fitting secured to the plunger at itsforward end, the fitting having at least one radial port forcommunication from the space in the cylinder around the extension to thepassage in the plunger.

4. An injector as set forth in claim 3 wherein the fitting holds thecheck valve in the plunger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,128,643 Wetmore Feb. 16, 1915 2,137,448 Ernst Nov. 22, 19382,336,240 Gavin Dec. 7, 1943 2,412,532 Parker Dec. l0, 1946 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 117,212 Switzerland Sept. 15, 1925 259,660Italy Jan. 19, 1926 450,025 Great Britain Iuly 9, 1936

